Free Tax Help

If you know of someone who is looking for assistance with 2012 income tax preparation and cannot afford to hire an accountant or tax preparer, Cooperative Ministry's VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program is the answer. The VITA volunteers are IRS-certified and provide help in basic income tax return preparation to individuals from families earning less than $50,000 a year. In the five years of the program's existence, VITA has processed more than eight thousand tax returns, bringing Midlands citizens more than $10 million in refunds and credits.

The first VITA help session for this year is taking place on Saturday 2 February from10:00AM to 2:00PM at the Cecil Tillis Center at 2111 Simpkins Lane in Columbia. VITA assistance will also be available at various other sites in Richland, Lexington, Fairfield and Newberry counties. Visit the Cooperative Ministry web page at http://www.coopmin.org/how-we-help/free-tax-preparation-vita to see the full list of locations and times. Anyone coming to seek help with taxes will need to bring a photo ID, the social security cards of all household members, and W2 forms.